Political Economic Analysis (PEA)

In reference To
phenomenon of military economy in MENA region

MENA region has long been one of the most unstable regions in the
world, this instability is the result of ongoing conflicts and tensions, and a
variety of political tensions and divisions. It also is the result of a wide variety
of long-term pressures growing out of poor governance, corruption, economic
failures, demographic pressures and other forces within the civil sector.

MENA region is home to a wide variety of cultures, religions, and ethnic

groups, including Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Persians, and Turks as well. It also is
home to the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as
well as many smaller religions like the Bahá’í, Druze, Yazidi, and Zoroastrian
faiths. The region contains many predominantly Muslim countries as well as
the world’s only Jewish state. The Middle East is deeply sectarian, and these
long-standing divisions, triggered by the constant competing for power by
religious extremists, are central to many of the challenges that the region faces
today. In some cases, these sectarian divides go back centuries. Contemporary
conflicts, however, have less to do with these histories than they do with
modern extremist ideologies and the fact that today’s borders often do not
reflect the region’s cultural, ethnic, or religious realities. Instead, they are often
the results of decisions taken by the British, French, and other powers during
and soon after World War I as they removed the Ottoman Empire away.

Persistent attempts have been made by MENA states to develop

their defense technological and industrial bases in order to diminish
dependence on arms imports and to search for spillover effects to civilian
industry. In many cases, the development of existing defense
technologies serves to reinforce the armed forces’ grip on the economy.
MENA states are among the largest importers of arms in the world and
this trend is on the rise . arms imports increased by 130 percent in the
Middle East and 9 percent in North Africa during the period 2010. In
parallel with this increase, MENA states are seeking to diversify their
sources of procurement as emerging actors (e.g. China, India, Indonesia,
Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine) are more willing to transfer
technology than are traditional suppliers (e.g. the USA, Western Europe
and Russia). This phenomenon will remain limited as long as the
products are of lower quality than those provided by traditional suppliers
( US and EU) .

The major MENA region's players( according to their military

size ), includes the four nation-states (Egypt, Iran, Israel and Turkey) in
the MENA region which, unlike their neighbors, are built on a specific
identity or ideology, diverging from the widespread ideologies of Pan-
Arabism and Pan-Islamism. In addition, Saudi Arabia is included in this
category due to its geography, its resources and the dominance it has in
the region through both soft and hard power. This importance is clearly
reflected in international (Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC))
and regional (Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)) organizations.

Although militarization can in some circumstances push forward

economic growth, generally it does not. MENA is a good example for this
. The more guns MENA buys ,the less butter it can afford. The Global
Militarization Index ranks MENA as the world’s most militarized region.
Thirteen of its countries in 2015 ranked in the top 29 of the 151 countries
assessed. Saudi Arabia has the world’s fourth largest military budget; it
doubled in the decade ending in 2015. The UAE is, after Saudi Arabia,
the world’s second-largest purchaser of U.S. weapons. Algeria spends
more on its military than any other country in Africa, having increased its
defense budget by 176 percent since 2004 and by a third over the last five
years. The military’s share of Tunisia’s 2015 budget increased more than
that of any other part of government, taking its annual allocation
tobalmost $1 billion in that cash-starved country.46 The Palestinian
Authority in 2015 spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars
on its security forces,
 Quantitative indications of high and expanding levels of
militarization in MENA are matched by qualitative change s. Most MENA
militaries have substantially enhanced their capacities, ranging from
counterterrorism to border surveillance to adoption of elements that
comprise the so-called Revolution in Military Affairs , battlefield control
systems, satellite intelligence and means of power projection. Warfare
capacities have been greatly increased, for example through Russian
technical assistance to Hezbollah forces in Syria. Military alliances have
proliferated, the most recent example being the 34-country coalition
formed by Saudi Arabia, to counter terrorism but widely thought to be
directed against Iran and its allies. Joint exercises between the armed
forces of MENA countries have increased. Military interventions, such as
those in Libya, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, are becoming commonplace.

The consequences of militarization for MENA’s economic

development are devastating. First, there are the direct costs, such as
procurement and force sustainment, as well as the opportunity costs of
manpower and other resource commitments. Indirect costs may be even
more deleterious to the region’s economies. Militarization deters FDI, at
least in sectors, such as manufacturing, that are inherently risk-averse.
They require substantial time to earn returns on investments, and their
fixed-capital assets are physically vulnerable. The steady encroachment
of the military into many of the region’s national economies undermines
the private sector, impedes accountability and places military officers in
economic decision-making roles for which they are ill-equipped.
MENA’s world-leading rate of military corruption, the result of the
penetration of the economy by the armed forces, imposes annual costs in
the billions of dollars .

In addition, there are other, further consequences that render

development yet more difficult. The region’s stability is being
undermined by armed conflicts within and between states. Humanitarian
disasters are becoming commonplace. MENA now produces more
refugees and internally displaced people than any other region.

Predicting future, the Middle East region will remain a key focus
for military planners and manufacturers . Once considered relatively
stable, mainly because of the ironfisted rule of authoritarian regimes, the
area is now highly unstable and a breeding ground for terrorism. Overall,
regional security has deteriorated in recent years. Iraq has restored its
territorial integrity, but the political situation and future relations between
Baghdad and the U.S. will remain difficult as long as a government that is
sympathetic to Iran is in power. The regional dispute with Qatar has made
the matters in the region even worse, more complex and difficult to
manage,. In countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, the supremacy
of the nation-state is being challenged by non-state actors who wield
influence, power, and resources comparable to those of small states. The
region’s principal security and political challenges are linked to the
unrealized aspirations of the Arab Spring, surging transnational terrorism,
and meddling by Iran, which seeks to extend its influence in the Islamic
world. These challenges are made more difficult by the Arab–Israeli
conflict, Sunni– Shia sectarian divides, the rise of Iran’s Islamist
revolutionary nationalism.

Different security factors drive the degree to which Middle Eastern

countries fund, train, and arm their militaries. In order to increase their
strategic autonomy most countries of the region have taken steps to
develop their defense technological and industrial base, Unfortunately for
the future stability of the region and the security of its people, recent
events demonstrate that the main military trend is the development of
more expeditionary forces by nearly all states .